Special Tribunal for Lebanon
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STL Assigns Lawyers to Defend Four Suspects

Head of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Defense office Francois Roux will task a lawyers for each suspect named in the indictment to examine the charges against them, the Central News Agency reported on Saturday.

“Each lawyer will head a team to build a case to defend the suspects and examine the indictment and the charges formed against them,” informed sources told the news agency.

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Canada Fears Hizbullah Reprisals over STL Indictments

Canada's security service identified possible Hizbullah reprisals over Hariri murder indictments as a national security threat, said a report Thursday.

A classified document cited by the Montreal French-language daily La Presse, entitled "Special Tribunal for Lebanon: does Hizbullah have recourse for violence in 2011?" outlines the concerns of Canada's Integrated Threat Assessment Center.

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Nasrallah: Indictment Based on Conclusions, Not Direct Evidence

Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday said the Special Tribunal for Lebanon lacked sufficient evidence to implicate members of his group in the 2005 assassination of ex-premier Rafik Hariri.

"What the tribunal published confirms what we have been saying for months, that the investigation is neither transparent nor scientific," said Nasrallah in a nationally televised speech broadcast hours after the Netherlands-based court unsealed its indictment.

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March 14 Legal Meeting Urges Ban, Arab League to Maintain Support for STL

A conference for March 14 legal figures called on United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and the Arab League to maintain their support for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon “until justice is achieved.”

The conference was held at the Bristol Hotel in Beirut bringing together a number of the camp’s legal officials.

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Roux Says Accused Can Participate in Trial in Absentia, Dispatch Lawyers to Court

Francois Roux, the head of the Defense Office of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, noted Sunday that those indicted by the court in the 2005 assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri can participate in the trials in absentia by dispatching their lawyers to court’s headquarters in The Hague.

In an interview with Al-Jadeed television, Roux said the Defense Office will not be directly in charge of defending the suspects, noting that he will rather name defense teams that will choose their own strategy and that the office will only aid them in their mission.

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March 14 Legal Meeting on July 26 under Slogan of ‘Justice to Reach Stability’

A March 14 camp meeting of legal experts is expected to be held at the Bristol Hotel on July 26, revealed sources from the camp.

They told the daily An Nahar in remarks published on Saturday that more than 300 legal experts, such as party members, lawyers, and university professors, are set to take part in the event, which will be held under the slogan of “Justice to Reach Stability.”

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Cassese Says Indictment Decisive Moment for Lebanon

President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Antonio Cassese said that the release of the indictment along with the arrest warrants in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination case is a critical moment for Lebanon and the region.

“This is a decisive moment for the Lebanese, their state and for international justice. It is also a decisive moment for the region,” Cassese said in an opinion article published Wednesday in The New York Times.

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Hizbullah Refused to Meet Head of STL Defense Office

Hizbullah rejected a suggestion to hold a meeting with the head of the Defense Office of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Francois Roux aimed at studying the possibility of the confronting the indictment, revealed widely informed sources to the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Sunday.

They explained that the meeting would have explained to the party leadership the seriousness of the Defense’s work, as well as the possibility of overturning the accusations against Hizbullah members indicted in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

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What Follows a Confirmed Indictment?

The press office of the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon on Thursday issued a Media Advisory titled “What follows a confirmed indictment?” -- after the court submitted Thursday a confirmed, confidential indictment and arrest warrant(s) to the Lebanese authorities over the 2005 murder of ex-PM Rafik Hariri.

Below is the full text of the Media Advisory:

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Gemayel: No One is Too Great to Escape Justice

Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel stated on Thursday that the release of the indictment in the investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri will pave the way for the beginning of international justice to take effect.

He said during a press conference after an extraordinary meeting for the Phalange Party: “There can be no partnership without the truth and no unity without the truth and no constitutional institutions without the truth.”

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